Making Meteors Shooting Stars
by fieldofdaseys
Summary: A collection of mostly fluffy Mischievous Kiss drabbles.
1. Chapter 1

Kotoko is searching the quad for the perfect place to hide so she can catch a glimpse of Naoki as he heads lunch. She tries huddling behind a bench, crouching down behind a newspaper dispenser, and peeking around the outside of the science and engineering building before she finds a tree with the perfect vantage point. It's slightly smaller than ideal but she thinks she's covered well enough to not be seen. She sighs, satisfied, and settles in for a short wait, unaware that the entire time she's had an audience. A small group of male students have gathered around a window near the base of the stairwell on the second floor to watch the daily show. They're muttering among themselves, wondering who she's waiting for every day and why, when Naoki passes by. He knows without looking why they've crowded together but it's what he overhears that stops him short.

"She's kind of cute in a helpless way," one of the young men comments with a thoughtful nod.

"Maybe she's waiting to see me," another adds with a grin and suggestive wiggle of his brow.

Naoki's jaw ticks and he lets his bag drop to his side as he moves closer to the crowd, looming over the backs of the boys who are also unaware they're being watched.

"She looks sweet," a different man says.

"Maybe I'll take a bite of her and find out." The one who suggested Kotoko was waiting for him turns to head down the stairs and bumps directly into Naoki's chest. Naoki glowers down at him before giving the rest of the group a quick once over.

"Mine," Naoki says simply, addressing them all as he drapes his bag over his shoulder and rests his wrist there.

"Your girlfriend?" One of the men asks as Naoki turns to leave, one foot already hovering over the second step.

"No," he answers, not stopping.

"Fiancée?" Another pipes up. The crowd has now turned it's attention from the girl outside and started following down the stairs, their interest piqued.

"No."

"Wife, then?"

"No."

"You're not one of those weird guys who gets overly protective of their sisters are you?" The same man from before asks as they reach the bottom of the stairs.

Naoki's jaw ticks again and he pushes a breath harshly out his nose as he turns back. This guy is really starting to get on his nerves.

"Mine." This time he says it directly to the man in front of him, daring him to try and force an elaboration out of him this time. Instead, the man holds his hands up in defeat and takes a step back with a sideways nod of his head. Naoki doesn't wait for another comment before walking away and stepping out the double doors that lead outside.

It takes him all of two seconds to find her between the way her skirt is poking out from behind the tree and the fact that he always seems to be hyper-aware of her presence. He sighs and shoves his free hand into his pocket as he heads in that direction. He watches out of the corner of his eye as she tries to shuffle around the tree, clearly not expecting him to take this route.

"Come out," he says as he passes by, not slowing down until he realizes she hasn't moved. He glances over his shoulder just in time to catch her pulling her head back behind the tree trunk, skirt still poking out, one of her vibrant hair bows slightly visible. He tries again, "Kotoko."

Finally, she peeks out. Her cheeks are pink and she gives him a nervous laugh as she takes a step from behind the tree and flings both hands up before bringing them back down several times to pat at her thighs. Naoki raises his head toward the sky with a sigh of false annoyance to hide his almost smile as she laughs nervously again.

"Ahh, Irie-kun. How did you know I was here?" She scratches at the base of her neck with a finger and looks up at him through her lashes, blinking rapidly.

He nearly tells her the truth and lets her know that she has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer but something tells him if he does she would stop showing up as often and he would never say it out loud, but he likes knowing she's waiting for him. He likes being able to see her throughout the day even though, usually, it's not all of her.

"Just a guess," he answers as he heads in the direction of the cafeteria. It takes a few seconds, but eventually Kotoko's brain catches up and she lets out a squeak, narrowly avoiding tripping over her own feet as she scrambles after him with hands waving wildly in the air.

"Irie-kun! Wait, let's have lunch together!"


	2. Chapter 2

Some time around two weeks before their sixth anniversary Kotoko starts needling him into going on a date. (Thankfully no real needles are involved. She's gotten much better but the memories of being her patient are still seared into the forefront of his brain.) Something simple she promises, he won't even need to take the entire day off from the hospital, just leave a little early.

He can tell he agrees more easily than she expects, cutting her off somewhere around number five on her thoroughly thought-out list of reasons he should take time off to be with her for at least part of the day. He could tell her that he'd requested the entire day off weeks in advance, but, in typical Naoki fashion, decides against it. If he tells her too often how much power she holds over him, how easily she can get him to agree to pretty much anything with a mere suggestion, she would undoubtedly use her powers for evil. Or at least to distract him more often than he'd like.

So, instead he simply grimaces at the shriek of delight she lets out and turns his attention back to the documents he'd been going over before she'd come into the living room with a determined set to her slender shoulders and a no nonsense look in her eye. He waits until she's distracted, rambling excitedly about all the possibilities for their date, to allow a small smile to reach his lips.

Just then, the slightly metallic sounds of the shuffling and cooing of an infant waking from a nap being filtered over a baby monitor fill the room. Naoki sighs and rises to his feet, placing his papers neatly back into their folder and setting them down on the coffee table as his wife turns to head up the stairs.

"I got it," he says, stepping around her at the base of the stairs, letting his hand brush across her lower back as he passes.

"You were working." Kotoko cocks her head in question like a puppy. It's one of the hundred things he finds endearing about her that he rarely voices.

"Someone already distracted me," he reminds her, turning back in her direction with an eyebrow slightly raised and a teasing lilt to his voice.

"Sorry, Irie-kun." She lowers her head, embarrassed that she'd bothered him with something that could have waited but not enough that she's truly regretful.

Instead of answering he puts an affectionate hand on top of her head and slides it down over her cheek, running his thumb over her cheekbone and down to the bottom lip she has pouted out. This time he doesn't bother hiding his smirk of satisfaction at the way her breathing shallows and her pupils dilate. He's a prideful man and the fact that simple gestures such as this still make his wife's cheeks turn pink, even after several years of marriage, is something that never fails to boost his already healthy ego. As he lets his hand drop a very similar shriek to the one Kotoko had let out moments before sounds over the baby monitor. However, it's definitely not one of delight.

"She got that lack of patience from you," Kotoko snips after him as he bounds up the stairs two at a time.

"Maybe," he concedes, realizing he can't exactly argue against that. "But the volume level is all you."

Kotoko opens her mouth, ready to be offended before realizing she can't really argue against that either. She frowns and nods in agreement before heading up the stairs behind her husband.


	3. Chapter 3

It's 2 a.m. on a weeknight and Naoki is wide-awake. Which, with his current class schedule and trying to catch up in med school, hasn't exactly been a rare occurrence lately. Tonight though, his heavy medical tomes are tucked away in his bag and the computer screen is pitch black. It's not his schooling preoccupying his mind, it's his wife.

He's rubbing circles over her shoulder with his fingertips, his arm keeping her tucked tightly to his chest. Her warm breath tickles over his slightly exposed collar bone with each exhale. She's sleeping peacefully with her lips parted slightly, probably drooling on his pajama top. Exactly where she should be.

Jealousy. That's what Ikezawa had called the feeling that snaked around his lungs and constricted until it felt uncomfortable to breathe. He'd felt it before, thanks to the man who'd explained it to him, but this time it was stronger, more unbearable. He'd written it off at first as his intense dislike for that Kamogari bastard, but he recognizes now that jealously was a secondary emotion. The intense, heart stopping feeling interwoven with that jealousy was fear.

He shifts slightly, turning to his side, careful not to shift the arm underneath Kotoko too much to avoid waking her. It's probably unnecessary considering she's not exactly a light sleeper but recent events have him operating with caution. He rolls his eyes when the cool air hits the newly exposed fabric of his shirt and he discovers she had indeed been drooling on him. Once he's comfortable he looks at her, studying the slope of her nose, the curve of her lips, the small expanse of skin visible above the ruffles of her scoop necked pajama top. She's beautiful. He loves her. So much that the idea of living without her is unthinkable. Yet, he'd told her to go. With Kamogari Keita. Idiot.

He obviously hadn't meant it, but the frustration of seeing her with another man who was clearly in love with her made him irrational. He hates that side of himself, the one that lashes out at Kotoko because anyone who knows her comes to see all the things that make her special, all the things that make him love her. He's sure if anyone else looked at the situation they would say he's being unfair, and he is. He knows that. Girls fall all over themselves to get to him, but their reasoning is fundamentally different than the men who pursue Kotoko. Like Sahoko, who was taken aback by his mean streak, the girls who want him want the idea of him. The handsome, genius, son of a successful business man, soon-to-be doctor Irie Naoki, not the moody, unexpressive, short-tempered, romantically-stunted Irie Naoki. They want what he can give to them. The men who want Kotoko want her. Clumsy, scatter-brained, impetuous, loving, sweet, damn near perfect Kotoko. They want to give her the world on a silver platter and he honestly can't blame them.

The fear he'd been feeling before is because he understands with perfect clarity now how lucky he is that she, for some unknowable reason, is so ridiculously in love with him. If she was an ounce less head-strong, one iota less sure of her affection for him, he may have already lost her. The thought had made his blood turn to ice in his veins and for all he was confident in front of Kamogari, he was terrified every time he saw them together that, at some point, Kotoko would recognize his short-comings. When she'd finally snapped at him, throwing whatever was in reach in his direction and storming out, he was sure that was it. He'd ruined everything and lost her. Served him right, he'd figured.

He'd resigned himself to hoping that she'd at least come back to pack her things while he was home so he could try to explain himself when the phone rang with Mr. Aihara at the other end. His hope was renewed then. He was still her husband and he wouldn't let her go so easily. One slightly embarrassing cafeteria speech later and she's back in their bed and the tightness in his chest is gone.

He tucks some stray hair behind her ear and smiles at her still sleeping face. He silently resolves to make sure that she doesn't doubt his love for her because, embarrassing or not, he'd meant what he'd said in the cafeteria. Somewhere between the rejected love letter (which he now keeps tucked away in one of his text books) and the moment he thought he'd lost her their relationship had inverted and in turn, his entire world was flipped upside down. She wants him, but he needs her. He can't imagine a life without her anymore and he never intends to find out what it would be like.


	4. Chapter 4

Kotoko is staring at what she's pretty sure is supposed to be a Christmas gift from Yuki to his girlfriend, but it's admittedly hard to tell if the pile of ribbons have been glued to the fabric intentionally or it's just a creative way to display the scraps left over from the actual gift. She's turned it upside down, sideways, even placed it face down (She'd had to take a guess on what was the front and back too.) and she still isn't sure exactly what he'd been going for. She's dangling it from her finger in an attempt to see if maybe it's meant to be an ornament when she accidentally rips something loose. She gasps and pulls a face, scrambling to tuck it back where she thinks it was placed originally, but she's not 100% sure of that either. She's even less sure Yuki would be able to tell the difference.

"I hope that's not for me," Naoki comments as he strides through the kitchen door, hands moving from the button at his throat to loosen his striped blue tie. Kotoko hums in acknowledgement without looking up and narrows her eyes at the odd creation as Naoki grabs a glass and heads to the sink for some water. He moves across the room and rests his hip against the chair Kotoko is standing behind, staring with her as he takes a sip.

"Yuki's Christmas gift," she explains. "It's... charming?' Kotoko tries, turning to look at her husband. His expression is passive, but at this point in their relationship she can tell what he's thinking anyway.

"It's terrible."

"Well, we can't tell him that," she mutters, picking it up again to see if she can make sense of it.

"He likes her, right? It'd be worse to stand by and let him give it to her." Naoki pokes at it with a skeptical finger. "You sure it's his?"

Kotoko nods. "I saw him put it on the table this morning before he left for school. I can't even figure out what it's supposed to be."

She tries dangling it again as if her wish for the object to make sense would somehow change the fact that it just doesn't. She leans in closer, looking for some tiny detail she figures she must have missed, when it's snatched off her finger and whoever does the snatching bumps rather roughly against her nose as well. She gasps and reels back, rubbing at her nose with her left hand and slinging her right arm in desperate circles, trying to keep her balance. Naoki anticipates her over-reaction, reaches around and places a hand on her back without a word, tipping her forward enough that she doesn't lose her footing. She looks up at him, left hand still on her nose, right arm still outstretched, and a dopey smile on her face. He takes another sip of water.

"What the hell is that thing?" Naoki questions his brother.

Kotoko snaps back to attention, lowering her arm and giving her nose a final rub. She realizes it was Yuki who'd snatched the thing out of her hand. She really should've known considering the blatant disregard for her physical well-being. She watches as he hurriedly shoves the item into his backpack.

"Something I meant to throw away," He grumbles as he zips his bag up, shaking at it's contents to try and jiggle the ribbons that are still sticking out into a manageable position. He lets out a frustrated groan and gives up, zipping the bag closed and leaving the exposed ribbons to hang haphazardly out the top. He's in the middle of slinging his backpack over his shoulder to head to his room and away from the embarrassment when an idea occurs to him. "Hey, Kotoko? You're good at this arts and crafts crap, right?"

"Why?" She asks, eyeing him knowingly. She crosses her arms and smiles smugly as he weighs his options before caving in with a sigh.

"Can you help me? l wouldn't ask but Konomi was droning on and on about how much handmade gifts mean and I can't give her... that." He jerks a thumb at what's still visible of his "gift."

"I knew it! It's so sweet that you'd make something for her! I knew she was the one for you the first time I met her! You must really love her! Let's get started right now!" Kotoko is swaying back and forward, going over the dozens of ideas in her head as the color drains from Yuki's face. Kotoko considers him. He's desperate. Desperate enough to ask for her help. In the perfect position for her to get something in return. "Wait! If I help you, you can't call me an idiot for..." She taps at her chin with her finger. "Two weeks!"

"If you keep that talk up I'm not gonna last two minutes," Yuki groans. "Two days."

"One week?" Kotoko bargains.

"Three days and if I say it under my breath you have to pretend you didn't hear it," Yuki counters.

"Fine." Kotoko sniffs and sticks out her hand for him to shake in agreement. He does so, very reluctantly.

Naoki, who's been watching the entire exchange silently, huffs out a laugh.

"Good luck with that. I'm not playing mediator." He lets the hand that's been linger on Kotoko's back drop to his side and puts his empty glass in the sink. "And Kotoko? Don't get any ideas."

Kotoko makes a face and sticks her tongue out at his back as he ambles toward their bedroom before turning back to Yuki.

"Tell me what she likes," she says, grabbing the notepad by the fridge that they usually use for grocery lists.

Yuki sighs and settles in for what he's sure will be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

Irie Naoki is good at most everything, but multi-tasking is one thing he knows he could work on. When he's focused on something he commits all of his attention to it which, as a surgeon, is vital. As a parent though, it's caused him a fair number of problems. Especially once Kotomi started toddling and even more so now that she's nearing five years of age and, while she got his smarts, she also got her mother's imagination. It's a combination that has both brought him immense pride and tested his patience to the limit.

He's nearing the end of a journal article a colleague had recommend when he realizes he hadn't heard any noise coming from Kotomi's room in a disturbing amount of time. He glances at his phone and confirms that more time had definitely passed than he'd intended in between his check-ins with her. Usually, there'd be someone else in the house to keep track but everyone else is either at work or school and his mother had stepped out to meet with some friends. He sighs and scratches at the bridge of his nose before standing up and stretching out his long limbs.

He takes the short walk next door to his daughter's bedroom and is relieved to see her sprawled on the floor, crayons scattered about and pigtails bobbing side to side as she scribbles and hums to herself. He leans his shoulder against the doorframe and crosses one leg behind the other to watch her. A smile crosses his lips, but quickly fades when he sees the top of his briefcase sticking out from under the bed, opened and empty. His eyes widen and he stands up straight, scanning over the papers his daughter is currently drawing on.

"Kotomi! What are you doing?"

Kotomi stiffens, dropping the purple crayon she was holding and scrambling quickly to her feet as Naoki crosses the room and starts gathering the paperwork from the floor. She watches with wide eyes as he grabs the suitcase from under the bed and starts stuffing the papers back inside. Her tiny hands bunch up her skirt and she sucks in her bottom lip to keep from crying.

"What were you thinking? Why would you touch something that doesn't belong to you?" Naoki grumbles, still gathering papers, wondering how in the world Kotomi had figured out the combination to unlock his suitcase. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath when he recognizes a well-worn envelope and Kotoko's handwriting. Her letter hadn't escaped Kotomi's colorful scrawlings. He turns, leaning against the bed and throws his head back on the mattress, closing his eyes again.

"I'm sorry, Papa," Kotomi whimpers. "I wanted to draw you something but you were busy so I got some paper out of your suitcase. I wanted to surprise you."

Naoki raises up and looks at her, tiny fist still balled in her skirt and tears ready to fall from her big brown eyes. God, he hates seeing her cry.

"Come here," he whispers, motioning for her to sit beside him on the floor. She hesitates but when he motions her over again she comes, slowly, obviously still trying her best to hold in her tears. When she sits Naoki glances at her from the corner of his eye before looking over the letter again. She's added several nonsensical scribbles, what he thinks is maybe meant to be a portrait of her mother, and four tiny stars. Now, not only is it a memento of their beginning it's also evidence of where they've ended up. From a rejected love letter to a frustratingly clever four year old.

"This letter," he says showing it to his daughter, "Is the first thing your mommy ever gave me. It's special."

"I ruined it," Kotomi mutters. Her shoulders slump and her head lowers in shame. She loses the battle against her tears and several slip out, rolling over her chubby cheeks. She sniffs and swipes at her nose with the sleeve of her sweater. Naoki sighs, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and bringing his hand up to rest on top of her head. He gives her a squeeze and pats her head in a short, soothing rhythm.

"You didn't ruin it," he promises.

She'd made it better.

He stands up and motions for her to do the same. She stares up at him with giant, red-rimmed eyes but she's stopped crying and her hands are relaxed at her side. He gently yanks on one of her pigtails.

"You really shouldn't touch other people's things. Especially not things meant for work. Do you understand?" He places his hands on her shoulders as she gives him an enthusiastic nod. "Come help me make new copies of the papers you drew on."

Later, after they've nearly replaced all the paperwork and most everything is back in dedicated folders it occurs to Naoki to ask how she'd gotten into his suitcase to begin with. He'd bought one with a lock to hopefully avoid situations such as this.

"That's easy," Kotomi grins. "It's my birthday 'cause you like me best!"

Kotoko walks through the bedroom door then and clutches dramatically at her chest, obviously overhearing what her daughter had said.

"I can't believe this. For years I fought off woman after woman to be number one in Irie-kun's heart only to be ousted by my own daughter! I think I'll have to challenge you to..." she trails off, raising her hands up in claw shapes and advancing on Kotomi who shrieks out a giggle.

"A tickle war!" Kotoko yells and lunges at her daughter who just barely out-maneuvers her and takes of down the hallway with Kotoko close behind.

Naoki laughs after them and looks at the letter on his desk again. It was definitely an improvement.


	6. Chapter 6

Naoki has lost count of the number of times he's heard the word "Todai" in the past month. From his teachers, his classmates, his parents, Mr. Aihara, his brother, Kotoko, even one overly invested shop owner. He's tired of it. He doesn't understand why everyone is so taken with the idea of college, but more than that he doesn't understand why the mere mention of higher education sets him on edge lately. Some time around his ninth birthday he'd made peace with the expectation that he would go to Todai, graduate, marry the perfect girl, and eventually go on inherit his father's company. Lately though, that future feels less like something he's ready to accept. Maybe because it's so terrifyingly close to becoming his reality. The path in front of him is clearly marked and now all he has to do is take it. The only problem is he's not sure he wants to. He feels suffocated.

On the morning of the entrance exam he considers pretending he overslept or merely forgot about it all together, but he doesn't get the chance. His mother is at his bedside obscenely early with her camera in hand, ready to document the moment. Which, apparently, means pictures of him half-asleep and blinded by flash. He hollers at her to get out and she does, snapping more pictures and giggling as she goes. If his head wasn't already pounding it definitely would be now.

He rubs at the space between his eye socket and brow bone roughly with the base of his palms before throwing the covers back and sitting up. If he can't get out of it he can at least get it over with.

Yuki, who had smartly pretended to sleep through the exchange with their mother, rolls over to look at his brother. He looks ready to say something but Naoki gives his a barely perceptible shake of his head and he decides better of it. Instead, Yuki returns an equal subdued nod and rolls back over, pulling the covers up over his shoulder and closing his eyes in hopes to get a few more minutes of rest. Unfortunately for Yuki, those few moments never come due to the unnecessarily rough nature in which Naoki is moving about the room, yanking open and slamming shut the drawers and closet to get his things. Yuki flinches at the final slam of the bedroom door as Naoki heads to the bathroom.

"Alright, guess I'll get up too," he grumbles.

By the time Naoki comes down for breakfast he's pulled himself together and is doing his absolute best to ignore the fact that literally everyone at the table is staring at him. He's less than halfway finished with his breakfast before he can't take it anymore and gets up to leave. Five set of chair legs scrape against the floor behind him. He ignores that too.

The fact that Kotoko follows him out the door isn't surprising. He lets her trail behind him for a while before calling her out. He could use something to distract him anyway.

They're about a third of the way into their walk toward the testing site when he notices her favoring one side. He turns to check on her several times but each time she just gives him a bright smile and waves him off. It's not until he notices her clutching her stomach that he finally asks what's wrong. She shakes her head vigorously and again assures him she's fine.

Period pain, he figures. It's the only reason he can think of that she would be hesitant to tell him about.

He looks her over again as they reach their destination. Her face is pale and a fine sheen of sweat covers her exposed skin despite the biting winter air. He asks again if she's okay and again she promises she is, smiling and wishing him luck. He considers staying but if his assumption is correct then he'd only be keeping her from going to buy pain meds by lingering. He's just made it across the street when he hears a scream and turns to see Kotoko crumpled on the ground.

His stomach drops.

He's honestly not even sure if he checks to make sure no car is coming before sprinting back across and all but shoving the woman huddled over Kotoko out of his way. He scoops her up into his arms and asks for the direction of the nearest hospital before taking off as quickly as his legs will carry him.

He's starting to panic, unsure the woman from before had given him proper instruction when an ambulance whizzes past and the hospital sign comes into view. He's exhausted, but instead of slowing down he starts walking faster.

He adjusts Kotoko's weight as he gets to the door of the hospital and a nurse rushes over to them with a wheelchair. Winded, he plops her down with less grace than he intended and bends over with his hands on his knees sucking in several shallow breaths, all while trying to answer the questions the nurse is throwing at him with as much accuracy as possible. His breathing is just returning to normal when they wheel Kotoko back past the double doors.

He's not usually one to fidget but he can't keep his leg from bouncing nervously as he sits in the waiting room. Annoyed at himself, he stands and shoves his hands in his pockets, willing his body to be as still as possible.

He can't believe that idiot.

She walked several miles in so much pain she was near passing out just to see him off to take a test. A test he didn't even want to take.

He's already planned a lengthy reprehension in his head with at least nine reasons she's the most infuriating person on the planet and he's working on a tenth when they call him up to the desk to give him a quick explanation of what's going on and let him know she's been moved to a room.

He thanks the nurse and asks to use the desk phone to make a call. After letting his mother know what's happened he heads toward Kotoko's room.

He could leave now. Her father is on his way and so are his parents, but despite the fact that he knows that she's going to be okay he has to see it for himself. The image of her lying on the ground, completely unresponsive, keeps playing on a loop in his head and he needs it to stop.

He doesn't bother knocking, just slides the door of her room open and gets ready to deliver the speech he'd prepared while in the waiting room, but when he steps inside he realizes she still hasn't come to.

He steps closer to the bed and looks her over. Her hair has been taken out of the childish style from earlier and is instead splayed out softly over her shoulders. Some color has returned to her cheeks and the moisture that he'd noticed on her skin is gone. She still looks small and vulnerable but less so than before. He tells himself the relief he feels is the same as it would be if it were anyone else, but part of him knows that's a lie.

She could have died.

He has the sudden urge to brush her hair away from her face, to hold her hand, to touch her in some way to confirm that she's still warm and breathing but he shoves his hands deeper into his pockets instead.

She's so stupid.

Who is going to take care of her if he goes to Todai? He'll be miles away and she'll be neglecting her health or tripping over her own two feet.

Idiot Kotoko.

His Kotoko.

It's the first time he's allowed himself to think of her that way. The thought has been creeping up on him more often lately but he's pushed it away, focusing on what he wants to do with his future instead. He realizes now that he'd failed miserably. No matter how much he'd thought about it everything kept circling back to her. Every time he'd imagined himself at university she had been there, causing trouble or making a scene, begging for his help passing one of her classes. He'd been factoring her in without even meaning to, justifying his annoyance with every mention of Todai with any other reason he could think of. They were all legitimate reasons, but it all boils down to just one. He doesn't want to go to university without her.

So, he won't.

It's oddly freeing to limit his options.

He checks his watch. Their parents should be getting here soon and he's confident in his decision but he's not ready to have that conversation just yet.

He looks at Kotoko. She's still lying there, sleeping peacefully with her soft features completely relaxed.

"How are you sleeping through the biggest decision I've ever made?" He mutters with a shake of his head.

As he slides the door open to leave he glances back at her one last time.

He'd wanted a distraction and true to her nature Kotoko had delivered excessively. Life will definitely be more interesting at Tonan.


	7. Chapter 7

There's nothing special that prompts him to say it.

They're lounging in the living room on a rare shared day off. Everyone else has gone off to bed and Kotoko is curled beneath a blanket, hair piled in a semi-neat bun on her head with earbuds in. Naoki can faintly hear the muffled, steady beat of a pop song. She's working on the nursing plan for the next day and tapping her toes along to the music, occasionally brushing against his leg with a socked foot which is making it increasingly difficult for him to focus on his own work.

Usually, he'd push her away or move somewhere else. He's starting to do just that, halfway into pushing himself off the couch, when he glances over at her and sees her nose scrunched up cutely in concentration, her tiny, pink tongue stuck out the side of her mouth. Suddenly, he can't find it in himself to be annoyed. Instead he smiles fondly and settles back into his seat.

The face she's making reminds him of the nights they spent together in high school, with her constantly distracted by his proximity and him equally affected but covering it up by leaning into his annoyance with her. He hadn't understood then why his heart rate picked up every time he caught her staring at him or when their hands brushed as he explained a math problem to her for the fourth time. He was too arrogant then to allow himself to stare openly at her like this, sure that the feelings were temporary.

She'd come flying into his life like the meteor that destroyed her house. Tiny, loud, and devastatingly destructive. He hadn't even known his foundation was faulty until she'd knocked it all down right in front of him with a bright smile and a shrug. He'd assumed that she'd eventually exit the way she came and he'd be able to re-focus and clean up the mess. Now, over a decade later, he's still cleaning up the messes she makes. Sometimes literally.

Kotoko glances over at him and does a double take when she notices him staring. She smiles at him shyly and plucks one of her earbuds out.

"Was the music too loud?" she asks, grabbing her phone to turn it down.

Naoki shakes his head but doesn't stop looking at her.

"Do I have something on my face?" She swipes at her mouth with the back of her hand. When Naoki shakes his head again her brows furrow in confusion. "What is it, Irie-kun?"

"I love you."

Naoki expects a positive reaction but the words hang in the air for several seconds before Kotoko reacts. What passes over his wife's face is something between shock and fear. Her eyes widen and the breath she takes in sharpens at the end. He watches, intrigued and just slightly alarmed, as she reaches up slowly and takes the other earbud out.

"Are you sick? Am I sick? Did you cheat on me? What's wrong?" Kotoko suddenly starts moving faster, spitting out all her questions at once. She moves to her knees on the couch, the blanket she had wrapped around her forgotten on the floor. She places one hand on Naoki's head and the other on her own for comparison.

Naoki stares up at her for a moment before huffing out an annoyed breath and grabbing her wrist, yanking her down to his level. She lands on top of him with a huff of her own, her weight pushing him back against the couch cushions. She scrambles a bit, trying to right herself, but he only lets her get so far before pressing a flat palm between her shoulder blades to keep her in place. Her giant eyes search his face in confusion when he pushes an amused breath out his nose and reaches up to place his other hand on her cheek.

"Idiot. Am I not allowed to say it?"

"O-of course you are. I jus-" Kotoko gasps and stiffens in surprise when he cuts her off by pressing his lips against hers. She relaxes into him when he slides his hand up from between her shoulder blades to the nape of her neck, kissing her more insistently.

Naoki registers the click of a camera somewhere in the depths of his brain but instead of stopping he moves the hand on her cheek, dropping it to her thigh and pulling her lower half closer to his, drawing another gasp from her lips. He breaks the kiss to stand, sliding both hands underneath Kotoko's thighs and lifting her up with him.

"Irie-kun?" Kotoko looks at him, slightly dazed, her lips and cheeks flushed.

He moves swiftly up the stairs with her in tow, pressing chaste kisses to whatever part of her is closest when he's not watching his next step. He kisses her fully on the lips again when they make it inside their bedroom, pushing the door closed with his foot and moving toward the bed.

Kotoko giggles when he drops her on the bed, the bounce of the springs causing the space between their lips to fluctuate several times. He follows quickly after her as she slides toward the top of the bed with a mischievous glint to her eye.

Naoki pulls at the pencil she was using to keep her hair tucked away as she worked and tosses it in the general direction of their shared desk, watching as her hair slowly cascades down over her shoulders. She lets out a high pitched noise from the back of her throat when he wraps his hands around the back of each of her knees and pulls her to him, causing her to land flat on her back as he settles himself between her thighs. Her dark hair is splayed out in every direction and he's careful not to pull at it when he puts his weight onto his forearms, leaning in to kiss her again before trailing his lips down her jawline to her neck.

"Did I hear a camera click earlier?" She asks, squirming against him, fingers tangling in the fabric of his t-shirt.

Naoki hums against the junction of her throat and nips at the delicate skin. Of course she would choose that moment to suddenly be observant.

"Your mother is going to know why we came up here."

She's trying to sound firm but her voice turns breathy when his tongue darts out and licks a stripe between the first button of her top his nimble fingers have already managed to open.

"Not my problem."

His lips move further down as he makes quick work of the second button as well.

"Hey," Kotoko says, her voice surprisingly soft considering their current state. Naoki pauses when she leans up on her elbows and takes his face in her hands. She smiles happily at him and bites one side of her lower lip. "I love you, too."

Naoki looks at her. Hair already a mess, shirt half undone, skin glowing in different shades of pink, breathing shallow and stilted, full lips parted and bruised. He can't remember a time she's looked more beautiful.

"I know." He nods and surges up to kiss her again.


	8. Chapter 8

Kotoko is finishing up the paperwork to hand off to the next nurse on duty when the tiny fan in the corner oscillates and air sweeps under the itemized list of medicines she'd divvied out over the course of her shift, sending it fluttering through the air. She squeals and grasps at it before it hits the ground but misses, sending it flying further away from her and behind the desk to her left. The hand she'd been trying to grab the paper with falls dramatically to her side over the seat of the chair as she pouts out her lower lip and lets her shoulders slump and head fall forward, closing her eyes.

It's already been a long night between the sudden influx of patients and being short staffed due the other nurse who was meant to be on shift with her calling out sick at the last minute. By the time they'd gotten someone to cover for her they were swamped and spent the rest of the night trying to catch up. She'd ended up working over-time trying to help get things back in order and she isn't sure what time it is, but she knows it's well past time for her to go home.

After a minute or so of feeling sorry for herself she sighs and huffs out something between a laugh and a sob before pushing herself and the chair she's sitting in slightly to the left and bending to peek underneath the desk she'd watched the paper slip behind, hoping to find it in plain sight. When it's no where to be found she slides bonelessly out of the chair and onto her hands and knees, crawling under the desk, careful not to brush against anything with her uniform and ignoring the chill the cool tile sends through her bare skin.

A bright white corner of the paper is sticking out, just enough that she can see it, but when she slips her fingers between the desk and the wall, trying to pull at it by trapping it between her pointer and middle finger. It doesn't budge. A frustrated groan vibrates in her throat and she tries a different angle, twisting her hand to try and figure out what is hanging it up.

"Ouch!"

Kotoko yanks her hand back from behind the desk, rising up and drawing her left pointer finger to her lips. She winces and runs her tongue over it, sucking gently, before removing it from her mouth and shaking her hand in both pain and annoyance. Not thinking, she starts to stand and yelps in surprise when the top of her head is met with resistance. Grumbling to herself she leans down and backs out slowly as her uninjured hand reaches up and rubs gently at her scalp. The computer monitor on the desk sways in protest at her disruption. Looking at the tip of her finger now that she's in better lighting she sees a small splinter stuck underneath the skin.

"What are you doing?"

Kotoko draws in a sharp breath and jumps slightly, turning to find Naoki leaning casually against the doorway of the nurse's office.

"I-Irie-kun? How long have you been there?" She asks, dropping both hands and clasping them together behind her back. She rocks back on her heels and smiles at him, hoping he hadn't seen her slamming her head against the desk. Judging by the mirth just beneath the surface of his blank stare she's guessing that hope is useless.

"Long enough," he answers, straightening up and taking long strides across the room, directly to the desk she'd been under a few moments before. Kotoko watches as he shifts it slightly away from the wall and bends over to grab the paper she'd been trying to get, handing it to her without looking in her direction and sliding the desk back in place. Kotoko takes the list with both hands and a small, embarrassed chuckle. When Naoki turns back to her she nods in thanks with another shy laugh and puts the paper back on the desk, placing a stapler on top of it to keep it from floating away again.

"Wait, why are you here? You're not supposed to be here until the morning."

"It is morning."

It's Naoki's turn to be startled when a thought suddenly occurs to her and she stands rod straight, picking the paper back up. She looks at Naoki, starting to panic, and he stares back in confusion with eyes slightly narrowed.

"What time does your shift start?" Kotoko asks as she glances at her watch. "Weren't you supposed to be here at six?"

"I needed to finish up some things from yesterday," Naoki fibs, "I came early."

Honestly, he'd woken up well before his alarm to find Kotoko's side of the bed cold and empty. When he'd checked his phone but found no explanation as to why she would be late he'd assumed something must have happened to keep her at the hospital and had come to check on her.

If Kotoko wasn't so tired she may have questioned him. It's not like him to leave things to the next day, but she looks absolutely exhausted, dark circles beneath her eyes, uniform wrinkled in every place she'd had to repeatedly bend. She deflates in front of him and leans against a filing cabinet, careful to avoid the back of her head, tilting her neck at an awkward angle to press her temple to the hard surface instead.

"I thought I had missed a round," she explains, pushing the words out on a relieved breath. Her eyes flutter closed and she looks like she may fall asleep right there.

"Come sit down," Naoki orders.

"Don't want to move."

"Now."

Kotoko groans quietly in protest and rolls her body upward, using her shoulders to push herself off the filing cabinet. Her eyelids feel heavy and she takes a deep breath, readying herself, before forcing them open to find that Naoki is no where in sight. She deflates again, this time in disappointment.

"Come to boss me around then run away. Didn't even care I hurt myself," she mutters, again feeling a little sorry for herself, but quickly shaking it off. "I'm almost done anyway. If I finish counting I'll be one step closer!"

She closes both hands into fists and quickly opens them back up when a dull pain throbs through her finger tip at contact with her palm. Ignoring it, she closes just her right hand back into a fist and purses her lips, giving herself a determined nod.

The wheels of the chair squeak slightly as she rolls it back into it's place and sits down, picking up her pen. She's only counted through the first two when her chair suddenly spins in the opposite direction. She gapes up with wide eyes at the man in front of her, confused until she sees what he's carrying.

Naoki doesn't say anything, only tucks his white coat behind his kahaki covered thighs and kneels in front of her, grabbing her left hand and turning it palm up before swabbing at her fingertip gently with a pre-packaged alcohol wipe. Kotoko watches in silence as he uses a needle and tweezers to gently work the tiny piece of wood from her skin. Even in this he's skilled she notices. She honestly barely even feels it. After a couple of minutes he turns her wrist this way and that, leaning close enough to her hand that she can feel his warm breath ghosting over her sensitive skin. He's disarmingly attractive this up close and she doesn't know if she'll ever get used to it. She takes in every feature as she's done hundreds of times before and wonders if he can feel her pulse hammering away beneath his fingers. He confirms that he can when he runs a thumb over her pulse point and looks her in the eye, an almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips.

When he's satisfied with his work he swipes at her finger again with another alcohol wipe and circles a bandaid around it. He stands and straightens his coat, gathering the used up supplies and doing away with them.

"Kiss it for me, Irie-kun," Kotoko says, sticking her bandaged finger in his direction when he turns back to her.

He shakes his head and puts his hands in the pockets of his coat, looking more like he's ready for a photoshoot than a day at the hospital.

"That defeats the purpose of everything I just did."

"Mean," Kotoko teases. It's not the answer she wanted, but it is the one she expected.

"How's your head?" Naoki asks rather that addressing her complaint.

"Fine," Kotoko shrugs and reaches up to gingerly touch where she'd bumped it earlier. "There's no knot and no bleeding. I've definitely had worse."

Naoki hums in agreement and moves toward her. For a moment she thinks he's changed his mind and is going to grant her wish after all, but instead he places a hand on the back of her chair and turns it toward the desk. She's ready to pout again until she feels the gentle pressure of Naoki's hands on her shoulders as he leans down and presses his lips softly to the back of her head. Her eyes widen in surprise for just a second before she smiles and reaches up to place a hand over one of his.

His hand slips out from under hers and off her shoulder as he leans back up.

"I'll see you at home," He says. Then, he's actually gone.

Suddenly, Kotoko doesn't feel as tired.


	9. Chapter 9

Kotoko winces at the sharp pain that radiates throughout her skull at the high, piercing scream her daughter lets out right next to her ear. The past twenty or so minutes have been spent trying to get the tiny, writhing girl in her arms to calm down, but nothing has worked. She's tried a bottle, different toys, a pacifier, a diaper change, rocking, bouncing, and swinging to no avail. Now, she's on the verge of tears herself. Both out of frustration and because she feels helpless to soothe whatever is ailing her daughter. She's pacing across the nursery, shushing Kotomi's cries and patting her back in a soft steady, rhythm, hoping she'll tire herself out soon. Judging by the way the baby arches her back and lets out another shrill wail she seriously doubts that.

After a few more minutes, Kotoko's head snaps up at the sound of the door opening as her husband slips in. Naoki opens the door just wide enough to allow himself room to slide inside in hopes of keeping the noise filtering into the hallway to a minimum before closing it gently and meeting his wife's eyes over the shoulder of the sobbing infant she has cradled against her chest. She raises her eyebrows at him and shakes her head in defeat. Quickly, he moves over to her and motions for her to hand him the baby. She does so readily and without argument, relieved that someone else is ready to give it a go.

Naoki pulls the baby up to his chest in the same position Kotoko had been holding her and resumes the same gentle patting motion on his daughter's back. At first, Kotomi is resistant, a few dissatisfied whimpers and cries leaving her tiny lips, but after a moment she settles, nestling her tiny head against his chest and letting out a soft, contented sigh. Kotoko rubs at her temples with the base of her palms and gives a sigh of her own.

"Seriously?" she whispers incredulously. "Why does it work when you do it?"

Naoki shrugs one shoulder without answering, continuing to pat the now mollified infant.

"She hates me," Kotoko says, frowning at the scene in front of her, hands on her hips.

"Don't be dramatic," Naoki chides with a shake of his head.

"She likes you better," Kotoko amends.

"Well." A tiny, prideful smirk pulls at his lips and he shrugs his shoulder again. He doesn't argue.

At the sight of his small smile Kotoko softens and lets out a gentle, amused breath. They're _really _cute. She watches in silence as her husband soothes their daughter, muttering between humming quietly to her, still patting and pacing. Kotoko thinks she hears something about "just feeding off mama's energy." She can't tell if it's meant to be an insult or a compliment but, knowing Naoki, it's probably a little bit of both.

Eventually, Naoki reaches over the the side of the crib and places a nearly sleeping Kotomi in the center, holding his breath as he slips his hands from underneath her. She stirs slightly, opening her eyes. Both Naoki and Kotoko tense, ready for another round of screaming, but she just blinks up blearily at them a few times and closes them again, wiggling slightly to a more comfortable position before stilling. They both watch until the only movement from her is an occasional twitch of her tiny fingers and the rise and fall of her chest. Kotoko places her hands on the railing of the crib and smiles down, gazing lovingly at her now sleeping baby.

"She's pretty great, huh?" she whispers.

Naoki places one hand on the railing as well, standing slightly behind his wife. He looks down at Kotomi. She looks peaceful, her little features completely relaxed, eyes closed, long lashes brushing against her chubby cheeks, small, round lips parted. He glances back up at his wife who is still staring at their daughter with the same slightly too big for her face eyes, the same round lips and long lashes. She looks full of wonder at miniaturized version of herself and Naoki finds that he's mesmerized too.

"Yeah," he says, smiling and placing his hand over Kotoko's on the railing and looking back down at their daughter. "She is."


	10. Chapter 10

Finding Kotoko daydreaming isn't exactly a rare occurrence. In fact, more often than not when _he_ finds _her_ it's because she's lost in one of her fantasies. Otherwise, she'd likely be seeking him out herself. Part of him envies her ability to lose herself in her imagination, her willingness to give herself over to a "what-if." Naoki is always firmly in the present, weighing the possibilities and his next steps but only in so much as what is actually possible and makes sense. Kotoko has never seemed to restrict herself with the unpleasantness of limitation or logic. It's one of his favorite (and one of the most frustrating) things about her.

She's perched at the kitchen table, elbows on the table top, dinner half-eaten in front of her, chin settled in the palm of her hands. She's staring at the wall in front of her without really seeing it. Her bangs have made their way into her eyes but she doesn't seem to notice that either. Her lips are pulled into a mindlessly happy smile, the occasional contented sigh leaving her lips. He can't even begin to guess what embarrassing thing the version of him she's conjured in her mind up is doing.

Suddenly, Naoki realizes he's been standing at the edge of the kitchen for much longer than he intended, a quick glance at his watch lets him know at least a full minute has passed by. He straightens up and makes to move toward the bedroom but hesitates, giving himself another moment to watch her. Only that. One heartbeat. Long enough to capture a picture in his mind. To remember in detail the far off look in her eyes, the gentle upward tilt to her round lips, the way her tiny hands cradle her face, the soft curve of her light blue top, contrasted by the angular jut of her collar bone. He wants to linger, to stare at her a little longer. Let her catch him looking just so he can see the blush pinken her cheeks and hear her trip over her words, thinking she's been the one caught out. He wants to, but he doesn't.

He's found that it's much too easy to continue watching her as she daydreams, too tempting to give in to the warmth that blurs the edges of his vision and sweeps at his thoughts, willing him to empty his head of anything but her. It's an appealing idea. So appealing he worries that if he does so, even once, it would just as easily become habit. One he doesn't have the time for. If he stopped to stare at her as long and as often as she allows her thoughts to wander he would quickly find himself woefully behind on work.

He shakes himself and slips out silently, leaving Kotoko to her thoughts, but as he makes it to the base of the stairs he turns one last time when he hears Kotoko muttering quietly to herself.

"We're going to be so happy," she promises, rubbing gently over the tiny bump that's recently formed beneath her shirt.

Naoki smiles, soft and small. Maybe fantasy Naoki wasn't doing anything embarrassing after all. Although, he does doubt it was anywhere near realistic. Despite what Kotoko may believe, he is only human. Which is why he doesn't fight the urge this time. He gives in. He lingers. There are worse habits.


End file.
